Communication Issues at Mirror Image - Case Study Example

Long Report Name Institution Date Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 1.0 Introduction 2 2.0 Analysis of Communication issues at mirror image 2 2.1 Literature Review 3 2.2 Employee surveys 4 Factory workers survey Analysis 4 1.1.1Managerial Survey analysis 8 2.3 Case Study 10 Recommendations 12 References 13 TABLE OF FIGURES (STAFF SURVEY) Figure 1: clear idea of work question 5 Figure 2: Confidence in management team question 5 Figure 3: Decision making question 6 Figure 4: Fair treatment Question 6 Figure 5: Performance Evaluation Question 6 Figure 6: Trust Question 7 Figure 7: Voice Concerns question 7 Figure 8: Satisfaction at work question 7 Figure 9: Employee input in decision making question 8 Figure 10: Subordinate supervision Question 8 Figure 11: Manager Approachability Question 9 Figure 12: Communication with employees 9 Figure 13: Politics in work place 9 Figure 14: Work Satisfaction question 10 Executive Summary Mirror Image needs a complete overhaul in the communication system between management staff and factory employees. After careful analysis of information collected through the CEO and the staff survey, it is clear that there are many factors which are prohibiting good communication. With the help of great pre-existing research this report identifies several major issues. Lack of trust in the management team has led to minimal communication, as the workers feel that this protects them from victimization. I suggest the following action be taken: Invest in communication training for all employees of the organization. Actively encourage ‘two way’ communication between managers and workers. Create a transparent workplace[dav13] Invest in communication courses for managers that deal with open conversation. Encourage the managerial team to adopt a consultative type of leadership communication. Re-evaluate all factory employees and re-assign them to their proper work stations depending on the skills they have. Invest in employee training. This will help the employees gain new skills. Advocate for team projects. These will help the employees gain trust in working with each other. Organizing company retreat events with challenges to foster team unity within the company. Encourage direct communication of instructions instead of memos. 1.0 Introduction Mirror image is a medium size company that deals with the manufacturing of mirrors. It has 100 factory workers and 20 management staff five of them being senior managers in the company.[dav13] The chief executive officer of mirror image, Mr. Tama Wilson has commissioned this report to help identify assess the current state of communication in his company and also identify communication problems within the company especially between the managers and the workers. To achieve that I will be conducting an anonymous survey with the help of the human resource department of the organization. The survey is a rating type where the company staff will be given five options to choose from. The five options are 1) completely disagree 2) mostly disagree 3) neither agree nor disagree 4) mostly agree and 5) completely agree. The employees will be given the opportunity to complete and hand in the surveys anonymously. 2.0 Analysis of Communication issues at mirror image The surveys were uniquely engineered for each category of staff depending on their work position in the company. This will help know the ineffective and effective methods of communications used [Swi09]. First is the Managerial survey which had five survey questions. The questions evaluated whether the managers seek their employees’ input in decision making, whether they closely supervised their subordinates, whether they considered themselves approachable managers in the work place, if they customized their communication with the employees to fit certain situations, whether they considered their workplace to be ‘political’, whether they are satisfied with their jobs and if they were committed to the organization. On the factory workers survey aimed to find out if employees had a clear idea of what their job was, if they were satisfied with the job, the performance evaluation, how they are treated at work, whether they trust their fellow workers, whether they are comfortable with the intentions of the managerial team and if they are comfortable voicing their concerns to the senior managers among other questions. 2.1 Literature Review Communication is an important impetus to the success of the business. Proper business communication between employees and the employees depends on the organizational culture. How employees are treated and involved in decision making by the management determines a great deal on their attitude towards the organization and the top management. Employees get motivated when they are involved in important decisions or when they are consulted prior to any change likely to affect them. In addition, the top management needs to work closely with their employees and know what is happening within the organization. By so doing, it will be easier to get any information regarding their perception of how the organization is being managed or some important improvements to be implemented. Therefore, for a manager to get the information from the employees regarding their views and ideas on various issues affecting the organization, they need to foster closer interaction with their employees and enhance good working relations. This can be done through proper communication, which enhances the interaction employees of different ranks within the organization and this boosts the morale of employees and encourage them to report any issue whenever it occurs or prior to its occurrence to help mitigate it early enough (Switzler & Kevin, 2009). Open communications within the organization creates a sense of transparency in the organization and therefore, build trust between the top management and their subordinates. By so doing, it becomes easier to obtain information from employees by the top management because they are not contemptuous of the top management. Keeping employees out of major decisions and failure to communicate why some decisions were taken by the management sometimes leaves employees discouraged and always suspicious of the management because of the lack of trust. Open communication and transparency reduces uncertainties and incorporates employees in the running of the organization (Nicholls, 2012). Research has also show that communication is imperative to enhancing relationships within the organizations for employees of different ranks. In addition, communication between the top management and the employees prevents instances of employees feeling out of place and isolated by the top management. Engaging employees through proper communication helps bring them on board and encourage them to take an active role in the progress of the organization (Royal & Masson, 2009). Communication also helps enhance clarity of information and iron out instances of confusion that may attract negative feelings from the employees. In the current state of globalization, it is possible to have employees from different backgrounds, who need to work hand in hand as a team and ensure the overall success. Therefore, communication helps reduce instances of misunderstandings and void unnecessary costs that come because of mistakes (Hackbarth, 2013). On the overall, communication is a critical aspect of any business organization and managers should be on the forefront in enhancing proper communication among their employees. This will help a great deal in ensuring proper coordination and control, which are critical success factors. 2.2 Employee surveys Factory workers survey Analysis As the graph depicts majority of the factory workers do not have a clear idea on what their work is. This may be because of being given tasks without the necessary resources (knowledge and time) to do the tasks given. Without a clear understanding of their work the workers commitment and satisfaction in their work is affected greatly Majority of the employees have no confidence in the intentions of the top management team. This can be attributed to the lack of communication between the management staff and the factory employees and also the managers not involving the employees in the decision making process of the company. Decision making is a very important part in the growth of an organization. In the mirror image organization employees have no voice in the decision making process. Without involving the workers in the decision making process the employees lose faith in the managerial staff and that brings about failed communication in the organization. Fair treatment covers the field of equality in the organization. According to the graph majority of the employees do not agree that they are treated fairly in the organization. The unfair treatment might ne because of the position they hold in the organization, their gender, their age or their skill various departments they work in.[Fai10] According to the performance evaluation graph a greater percentage of the employees are not satisfied with the credibility of the performance evaluation system. Performance evaluation is usually put in place to award hardworking workers but with it being ineffective the workers become less and less committed. This organization experiences a lot of trust issues between employees and management staff, and employees and employees.[Bre10] Distrust in the company causes the employees of the company to become less invested in the company’s success. Employees in this organization do not feel comfortable voicing their concerns to the managerial staff for fear of being singled out and losing their jobs. This fear leads to them keeping quiet about their issues and just following the managerial instructions. Majority of the workers are not satisfied with their work. This might be the result of lack of trust in the company, unfair treatment, lack of necessary skills and resources to do the tasks given. Lack of satisfaction in work place always results to low productivity in the work place.[Ann13] 1.1.1 Managerial Survey analysis This survey brought out the fact that the managerial staff do not include the employees in the decision making process. This makes the leadership method dictatorial and it does not help in fostering good communication between the managers and the factory employees. Subordinate supervision is a very important factor in the productivity of the company. According to the survey the managerial staff generally performs a good job in ensuring that every employee is doing their work According to the survey all managers consider themselves to be approachable but according to the factory workers survey managers are not approachable for fear of victimization leading to job loss. Although some managers customize their communication to fit the situation, others do not. This makes it hard for interaction between managers and factory employees to happen given that communication between them is always official. Work politic is the use of power and social networking within an organization with the aim of getting changes that affect specific individuals or a group[Dia13]. This can bring about negative atmosphere within that organization and eventually lack of productivity. According to the survey the organization experiences work politics and this might be a contributing factor to the lack of trust in the organization. Majority of members of the managerial team are satisfied with their work in the organization. This translates to positive environment in the work place and thus increased productivity in what they undertake. Most of the managerial staff are committed for the better of the company. This might be caused by them being satisfied by their roles/ positions in the company but their commitment is a positive thing since the manager’s commitment ensures productivity in the company. 2.3 Case Study After the Survey was completed and properly analyzed I found out that communication within all the staff in the company is severely affected. The managers do not talk to the factory workers therefore none knows the other. Decision making in the company is one sided with the managers being the only ones involved in the process. Majority of the factory workers have no clear idea what their job is and this has resulted in them not being satisfied in their work and being uncertain about their commitment to the organization. Most of them lack the necessary tools and resources to do some of the tasks they are given. Employees in the company are being treated unfairly which makes them not comfortable enough to voice their concerns to senior managers. Trust is an issue among the factory workers with majority not trusting each other. It is clear that the mirror image staff is not united for the common interest of the company with trust issues dividing the company management team and the factory workers such that they cannot communicate with each other even in a simple conversation. Conclusion According to the survey analysis it has been noted that the: Communication between the managerial staff and the employees is a Dictatorial type of communication. [Com11] The use of only one communication form in all occurring situations and locations in the company makes the managers unapproachable and this discourages free and comfortable interaction between the managers and the factory employees. Decision making privileges in the organization have completely been taken over by the managerial team and they do not involve the factory workers to contribute ideas to help in the decision making. This makes the organization lack creativity creative decisions which might propel the company to greater heights. Supervision the managerial stuff are doing a wonderful job by closely observing their subordinates. Many of the factory employees have no clear idea what their job description is. This might be as a result of being given tasks they are not cut out for. Majority of both employees are not satisfied and committed to their work while most of the employees are. Most employees are treated unfairly which might affect their productivity in the work place. Lack of communication between employees and managers makes the employees lack confidence in the intentions of the managerial staff. Employees in the company do not trust each other. Some factory employees lack the skills and resources to complete tasks they are given. The organization communication system needs to be remodeled for better and effective communication between the managers and the workers in the company. Recommendations According to the research analysis, findings and conclusion I would recommend that: Invest in communication training for all employees of the organization. Create a transparent workplace Invest in communication courses for managers that deal with open conversation. Encourage the managerial team to adopt a consultative type of leadership communication. Encourage the managerial team to adopt a consultative type of leadership communication. Include employees input in the decision making process. Managers should learn to listen, give feedback and notice employees feedback in the company [Nat13] Re-evaluate all factory employees and re-assign them to their proper work stations depending on the skills they have. Invest in employee training. This will help the employees gain new skills even while they are working and will also help them keep up with the new technological advancements. Advocate for team projects. These will help the employees gain trust in working with each other. Encourage employee participation[Ste12] Organizing company retreat events with challenges to foster team unity within the company. References dav13: , (prichard, 2013), Swi09: , (Switzler, 2009), Fai10: , (Fairwork, 2010), Bre10: , (Simmons, 2010), Ann13: , (Anna Assad, 2013), Dia13: , (podmoroff, 2013), Com11: , (theory, 2011), Nat13: , (Hackbarth, 2013), Ste12: , (Nicholls, 2012), Read More